A couple of weeks ago I stumbles across a radio program to which I used to listen. It might be of some interest to you too so here is a link to the archived show. As you can see it is in three acts the last act (entitled Nuns Amok) is the one about which this post is concerned.

It recounts the destruction an order of Glenmary Sisters. Most interestingly for this program (which is not necessarily at all Catholic friendly) it traces their dissolution through the letting go of their vows one by one. First was obedience. They did not want to be answerable to “the Church” Read the rest of this entry »

I am Lutheran and know we are saved by believing in Jesus Christ. I have not read all of your replies carefully but feel you are saying that the Catholic Church does not believe we are receiving real communion in our own church. Is that the Catholic view?

FOR SOME REASON I AM UNABLE TO POST A REPLY. SO I WILL HAVE TO DO IT IN A POST
Dear J linka,
You may be receiving communion with the members of your church but you are not receiving the body and blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ because all Protestant denominations have lost apostolic succession and proper prayer for consubstantiation. This is not meant as a point of arrogance or pride but so that the Catholic Faithful can properly fulfill their obligation to attend a valid mass. Going to a Protestant communion service does not fulfill this obligation. However attending an Orthodox mass or SSPX mass when necessary b/c no alternative mass is accessible, can fulfill the obligation.

We believe that were are saved not merely by believing in Jesus but also by eating and drinking His flesh and blood as He tell us in:

John 6:48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your forefathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

52 Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56 Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

The Lutherans along with all Protestants do not have a valid Eucharist because after the Protestant prayers it is still just bread and wine.

So, it is safe for you to partake of your Lutheran bread and wine b/c it is merely bread and wine. It only symbolizes Jesus.

In last month’s column, I surveyed several writers who viewed the Sexual Revolution and predicted dire effects, and I concluded with the predictions of Pope Paul VI in his 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae. The Holy Father suffered greatly and was widely rejected for his statements, but the others experienced no such effects. So, why was Pope Paul VI verbally crucified for his predictions while the others suffered no such consequences?

I think the reason why Pope Paul VI was vilified is that he spoke in the name of God and His Church. He didn’t just offer personal opinion like the others. He taught with authority: “Nonetheless the Church, calling men back to the observance of the norms of the natural law, as interpreted by its constant doctrine, teaches that each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life” (Humanae Vitae, no. 11).

The Sexual Revolution was in full swing in 1968. Crazy theories about love, marriage, and sexuality abounded. And here was the Pope teaching that marital contraception is “intrinsically dishonest” (no. 14). Led by a handful of liberal priests, a revolution was organized within the Church against the teaching of Humanae Vitae, and it was quickly institutionalized. The explicit teaching of our Savior that each of us must take up our cross daily was implicitly denied with regard to sexuality.

Today we are experiencing the consequences of this revolution. The Boston scandals (and they are not unique to Boston) are too widely known to be ignored; Pope Benedict XVI alluded to them several times in his recent visit to America. One might ask: Is there a connection between the sins of the vast majority of married Catholics who use unnatural forms of birth control and the sins of a very small minority of the clergy who Read the rest of this entry »

The Gospel of Mark as the Memoirs of Peter

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The Church historian Eusebius quoted a fragment from Papias concerning the the origin and authorship of the Gospel of Mark in Hist. Eccl. (3, 39):

“And the presbyter said this. Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered. It was not, however, in exact order that he related the sayings or deeds of Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor accompanied Him. But afterwards, as I said, he accompanied Peter, who accommodated his instructions to the necessities [of his hearers], but with no intention of giving a regular narrative of the Lord’s sayings.

Wherefore Mark made no mistake in thus writing some things as he remembered them. For of one thing he took especial care, not to omit anything he had heard, and not to put anything fictitious into the statements.”

Saint Peter, Servant of his Brothers

Canterbury Tales offers a good summary of why Catholics were so excited to greet their Holy Father in the faith last week, and why our allegiance follows him- as the inheritor of the Petrine ministry which Christ instituted for the Church- back to Rome:

“An investigation of the New Testament reveals that Peter is not just another apostle. Nor is he merely prima inter pares – first among equals. Rather, he is deeply conformed to the work and mission of Christ. He is, as we say, the vicar of Christ.

Peter’s name is mentioned 195 times in the New Testament – more than all the other Apostles combined.”

Monday, April 21, 2008

From Spirit Catholic Radio in Nebraska comes a series of programs from perhaps the foremost patristics scholar in America today. Mike Aquilina’s work has been rather exhaustive and he’s exceedingly good at making the early Fathers accessible. If you’ve ever been confronted by someone who claims that the Early Church wasn’t Catholic or that the Catholic Church was invented by Constantine (ala Dan Brown), be sure to be prepared by having listened to at least a few of these programs.